No call from the hall for Daniel Alfredsson
Daniel Alfredsson will have to play the waiting game for an invitation into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
That was the message to the Ottawa Senators’ former captain after he wasn’t among a group of seven people, including five players, elected by the 18-member Hockey Hall of Fame voting committee Monday in Toronto.
Eligible to be on the ballot for the first time since he hung up his skates at the end of the 2013-14 campaign following one final year with the Detroit Red Wings, Alfredsson, 44, who wore the ‘C’ for the Senators from 1999 until his departure, will remain eligible for the ballot and there’s nothing stopping him from being voted in next year.
Though former Anaheim Ducks’ winger Teemu Selanne was a first-ballot Hall of Fame selection, it should be noted that among the five players elected that former Toronto Maple Leafs’ forward Dave Andreychuk was elected the 16th time he was eligible, while Mark Recchi had been looked over for three straight years.
There will be plenty of debate, mostly in Ottawa, over the fact Alfredsson, the first player in the modern-day history of the franchise to have his number retired when No. 11 was raised to the rafters last December in a stirring ceremony at the Canadian Tire Centre, wasn’t voted in the first time he was on the ballot.
But there’s plenty of evidence out there of players having to wait, and Alfredsson’s just joined that group, so patience is going to have to be a virtue.
No, it doesn’t seem fair and it doesn’t always make sense, however, that’s the way the Hall of Fame voting has been for years so it wasn’t about to change overnight.
With 444 goals, 713 assists for 1,157 points in 1,246 games, plus 51 goals and 100 points in 124 playoff games, many think Alfredsson should have been an automatic pick the first time he was eligible.
You can’t argue with any of the NHL player selections made Monday. Paul Kariya, Dave Andreychuk, Mark Recchi and Selanne all deserve to be in the Hall of Fame because they were all great players who were special when they were on the ice.
People in Ottawa will see it differently because they know what Alfredsson meant to this franchise. He was, night in and night out, the heart and soul of the Senators every time he pulled on the No. 11. He led by example, he was consistent and he helped the franchise get to the Stanley Cup final in 2007.
“Paul Kariya, Dave Andreychuk, Mark Recchi didn’t get in for a number of years so there’s a lot of really quality candidates,” said former NHL general manager Craig Button, TSN’s director of scouting.
“In my own view, Daniel Alfredsson was a player that excelled and I think the Hall of Fame is for players that excel.
“I don’t buy into the (theory) you have to be the best player at your position, you have to be one of the best 10 players in the NHL. When you watch Daniel Alfredsson, and what he contributed to the Ottawa Senators in every single area of the game, and I’m not just talking in one (area). He was a well-rounded player that could make a difference in multiple areas of the game.
“Yeah, he’s not in this year, and I’m sure there’s a measure of disappointment, but again, Kariya, Andreychuk, (and) Recchi. I’m sure at some point in the future Daniel Alfredsson will merit and accept the nomination and the election into the Hockey Hall of Fame.”
On that point, Button couldn’t be more correct.
The Senators were excited about the possibility of Alfredsson going into the Hall because it’s a feather in the cap for the franchise as well if one of their players is selected. The franchise celebrated its 25th-anniversary season and is establishing roots in the hockey world and Alfredsson is the club’s first legacy player.
There is talk Alfredsson didn’t get in because he never won a Stanley Cup. In more recent years, the Hall has done a better job of recognizing players’ accomplishments on the international stage and Alfredsson has no shortage of experience with Team Sweden — including an Olympic gold medal in 2006 in Turin, Italy.
Alfredsson, who has moved into an advisory role in the hockey operations department with the Senators, shouldn’t have any personal disappointment about not getting in this time and the people of Ottawa are probably more upset than he’ll ever be since he understands how the whole process works.
The good thing for Alfredsson, in this case, is there’s always next year.